Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr (1198-1 March 1244) was the firstborn son of Llywelyn the Great.

Biography
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr was the firstborn son of King Llywelyn the Great, and he was sent as a hostage to King John of England before he was released in 1215 after the adoption of the Magna Carta. On his father's death in 1240, he was, by law, entitled to succeed him, but the succession instead went to his younger brother, Dafydd ap Llywelyn, as per his father's will. He was instead granted lands in Ardudwy and Merioneth, but he was removed from control of these lands in 1221 for his poor administration. His father had him imprisoned between 1228 and 1234, but he was given the fiefs of Llŷn, Ceri, Cyfeiliog, Mawddwy, Mochnant and Caereinion after his release. In 1241, following a successful invasion of Wales by King Henry III of England, Dafydd was forced to surrender Gruffydd to the King of England, who sought to use him as a potential rival claimant to the Welsh throne, threatening Dafydd's power. However, Gruffydd died while attempting to escape from the Tower of London in 1244; he made a makeshift rope of sheets and cloths in an attempt to lower himself from his tower, but, as a heavy man, he fell to his death when the rope broke.